It Seems So Long, Part 2

Writing my entry for yesterday, combined with reading l'empress' similar entry and her earlier high school entry got me to reminiscing more about those old high school days at St. Vincent's.

What sports did you play?

You know, I said yesterday that I was the editor of the yearbook. I was involved in so many activities that I am in photos on nearly every page of that yearbook -- Student Council, California Scholarship Federation, Legion of Mary, Sodality, yearbook staff, newspaper staff, glee club, something called "Federation" (I don't remember what that was), Living Rosary, dance committees, school play, vocation play (I was the nun), May crowning, fashion show. (yes, really--all of those.) But the pages where you will NOT find me is the sports pages. Hated sports, was rotten at sports. I may have played basketball because we all had to, but never when it counted.

What kind of car did you drive?

When I needed a car, the family vehicle, which was a Chevy (I think). Never had my own car. I'm 65 and I still have never had my own car.

Were you a party animal?

Bwahahaha. Definitely not. When we had get-togethers, they were quiet affairs, rarely co-ed (tho sometimes they were).

Were you considered a flirt?

Are you kidding? I was terrified of boys, which is why I dated the same guy from age 13 to 16, and then nobody seriously until the gay guy who was my leading man in the school play.

Can you sing the Alma Mater?

For the school that we love
We'll sing the praises
Loud and long to all
United firm, in pleasing words
Which can no [something] know
And tho the years may come and go
Years that are none too long
A memory deep
There's none so sweet
As our alma mater dear

Gag me with a spoon. I have no idea who wrote these lyrics, but they are abominable!

Who was your favorite teacher?

Sister Anne, who was my typing teacher (and also the sister in charge of all the sports teams). We formed a lifelong friendship, which continued to her death (I can't believe how young she looks in this photo!). Jeri's middle name is "Anne" because of Sister Anne. I was able to visit her, as an adult, when I went to St Louis for a meeting and she picked me up and brought me back to the motherhouse in Indiana, where she lived. Shortly after that she developed Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which ultimately killed her shortly before Ned and Marta were married (I learned of her death when we sent her a wedding announcement)

Favorite class?

Yesterday I said French but it obviously was a toss-up between French and typing. I guess I think of typing as something I did for fun, and French as a more scholastic type of class!

Where did you go most often for lunch?

The school cafeteria. Sometimes I brought my lunch, sometimes bought it. I worked selling candy at lunchtime (got to steal a lot of chocolate that way!)

What do you remember most about graduation?

It's funny, but the strongest memory of graduation came after it was all over and I saw a classmate named Ruth Rose. Ruth is African American and we had a strange relationship, not exactly friends, but we liked each other. We were both in the better group in French, so we had that in common. We stood in front of each other after graduation and said "We'll probably never see each other again." We never did, until our 25th class reunion, which she attended. She left early, saying that her curiosity had been satisfied. I tried to find her again when I got e-mail, but her name is too common. She had become an attorney, I think, lived in Southern California, and had traveled around the world. She had become fluent in French, and had nothing good to say about her experiences in France and was sorry for the years she felt she "wasted" in learning the language.

Did you win any awards?

I was Salutatorian at graduation (#3 in a class of 60), which meant I wrote the class prayer. I also won the Vincenta award, which was an award for spirit, usually given to the biggest suck-up, which I definitely was! I am told that they no longer give the Vincenta award. I wonder what happened to the award itself--it was a great source of pride seeing my name engraved on the plaque.

Favorite Memory of your Senior year?

Definitely the school play. It was probably the signature event of my high school years. So many close friendships came out of that play. In fact, one of the guys we borrowed from the nearby boys' school recently died. I didn't know him well (though he dated my friend Anne), but I felt a pang at his loss

What did you do after graduation?

Immediately after graduation I was planning my entrance into the convent in September, so the summer was spent doing "last things" with my family, and packing my trunk. My mother, grandmother and I also went to Hawaii for a last vacation together. In August, Sister Anne, who had been transferred to Arizona the year before, came to talk with me and we decided to postpone my entrance, so I worked for six months at the school, while trying to decide if I really had "the calling" or not. Ultimately, I did not go. When I decided not to go, my father insisted that I enroll at UC Berkeley (it was much easier to get in then), and study to be a teacher. I lasted 1-1/2 semesters.